A plan and a request for advice from those more experienced.
I had one compost pile that grew larger and larger and was spilling over on to the concrete pad and making a large mess. It was also very hard to get to the completed compost. There was no room for another pile-- there wasn't really room for the one I had. My boys, being the considerate kind of boys, ordered me a compost bin that came as a big surprise in Tuesday's mail. Not only was the problem solved but it opened up new possibilities.
After clearing the area of brambles (ouch!) and all sorts of stuff that was growing around and under(!) the old pile, I've freed up the old bricks that I was using at the base. Also, the previous owners of the house left an old, used tire behind the shed. Looking at these things, a lightbulb flashed on right over my head!
I can make a planter out of the tire (an idea I first read here in this community), put the raspberry stick I impulsively bought into it. Surely it will like it back there since the other brambles seemed to love it and I could keep it more or less contained inside the tire. And I could use the bricks to make homemade border under the mulberry trees for a shade garden where I could grow those exotic looking tropicals that die instantly anywhere else in my sun-soaked yard.
The cleared out area and my new bin.
Pile of crap pulled from the area. The chicken wire did hold the pile back a bit but the brambles grew right through it.
My plan sketched out a little.
I've cut the side wall of the tire, now all I need is for the boys to turn the tire inside out. The tire and the bricks will be painted the same color (the border will abut the concrete pad). I've never put in a border before. I was thinking of digging a shallow trench, putting the bricks in and then back filling to keep the bricks in place.
Any and all advise on any portion of my Master Plan will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Be kind and don't say anything about the lawn.
After clearing the area of brambles (ouch!) and all sorts of stuff that was growing around and under(!) the old pile, I've freed up the old bricks that I was using at the base. Also, the previous owners of the house left an old, used tire behind the shed. Looking at these things, a lightbulb flashed on right over my head!
I can make a planter out of the tire (an idea I first read here in this community), put the raspberry stick I impulsively bought into it. Surely it will like it back there since the other brambles seemed to love it and I could keep it more or less contained inside the tire. And I could use the bricks to make homemade border under the mulberry trees for a shade garden where I could grow those exotic looking tropicals that die instantly anywhere else in my sun-soaked yard.
The cleared out area and my new bin.
Pile of crap pulled from the area. The chicken wire did hold the pile back a bit but the brambles grew right through it.
My plan sketched out a little.
I've cut the side wall of the tire, now all I need is for the boys to turn the tire inside out. The tire and the bricks will be painted the same color (the border will abut the concrete pad). I've never put in a border before. I was thinking of digging a shallow trench, putting the bricks in and then back filling to keep the bricks in place.
Any and all advise on any portion of my Master Plan will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Be kind and don't say anything about the lawn.